Nice to Know You
by Gawd Complex
Summary: Abandoned. Up for adoption.
1. Amnesia

_**A/N:**__ I was just searching for pen when I suddenly got sight of one of my notebooks. Since I always enjoy reading the stuff I've written when I am half-asleep (I swear, I'm funny when I'm half-asleep xD) I read into it. And on one of the last pages there was this Naruto fanfiction idea. Yes, THIS Naruto fanfiction idea. I believe I wrote it down three weeks ago or something. I'm so glad I wrote it down. :D_

_**Besides that:**__ I don't accept flames. If you want to give criticism than that's great (yes really), but do it in a not-insulting manner. 'Kay? _

_**Fact:**__ Naruto and Sasuke are in their late twenties in this story._

_**Attention:**__ this is NOT a yaoi fic. It purely platonic; you know, friendship? _

_**Warning:**__ Protective!Sasuke, and Naruto, who has lost his memory, is very child-like. I'm not saying that he was very mature when he had become the Rokudaime, but I just want to say that his behaviour at some times is influenced by his amnesia. _

_**Example:**__ Afterall, now he doesn't know he's a ninja, how is he supposed to know exploding tags are dangerous?_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own Naruto. Not unless Kishimoto suddenly dies or get a serious life-threatening disease that will mutilate his hands and I turn out to be his long-lost daughter who he'll beg to finish the Naruto-series for him. And I doubt that will happen.

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**Title:**Blank Slate

**From:**Think-chan

**Genre:** General? 

**Summary:**Naruto, suffering from amnesia, wants to regain his memory. But his travelling companion doesn't seem too happy with it. The question is why? So, why Uchiha Sasuke?

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_The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute for the strong. _

**- Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)**

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Tsunade was exhausted. Not only psychically, but also mentally. Her successor had… died. By the hands of the one he once had called best friend. 

For the past two weeks Tsunade had joined search-parties all over Fire-country.

And she could! She had told the council that. Because as long as the current Hokage wasn't officially declared dead, she could do everything that she wanted.

Two weeks long she had searched for him, the man who was like a little brother to her. But she didn't find him. Neither had anyone else.

Tsunade felt like an emotional wreck. He couldn't die, could he? Her otouto, he wouldn't die that easily, right? He had once survived a chidori through his chest. He had survived fighting demons, he survived twelve years of discrimination, of living alone, of betrayals, of worse things than… _that fight. _She kept telling herself that, and two weeks long she had expected him to be _everywhere_. Her paranoia becoming so big that she even expected the little pervert to be in her shower.

But now she stood there in front of a big crowd. She looked at all the people gathered. More than half of them were shinobi. Which was logical, considering it was a ninja village. No one smiled. No one cried. It was a shinobi rule: show no emotions. And everyone followed it… for the moment. Tsunade doubted if they really could hold it up for long.

Somehow she just hoped that the little runt would jump out of the crowd and scream something like 'SURPRISE! I fooled you all! Bwahahaha!'. Then she could punch the crap out of him and give him his pimp-hat, as he liked to call it, back. But he didn't come out of the crowd, as she has unconsciously expected him to do. And the crowd kept on staring.

_Which was annoying,_ a familiar voice in her head said, _and rude. But mostly annoying_.

Tsunade tried to keep her face devoid of emotion, especially after reminiscing those words. As she knew she wouldn't hear those for a long time.

"People of Konohagakure no Sato." She spoke in a harsh way. Harsher than she had intended to. _He_ wouldn't want her to talk that way. So she continued in a softer tone.

"Please remain silent, until I'm done speaking." All the people who had possibly spoken turned quiet. All eyes were solely and intently turned to Tsunade. Tsunade was one of temper-tantrums, and threats. Certainly not one of asking nicely.

"As from today, I will return to my previous position as Godaime Hokage."

That sentence had a unique response. Some shinobi widened their eyes, looking totally shocked or devastated. Some people gasped loudly when realisation dawned on them. Faint whispers emerged from the crowd, but before things could get out of hand Tsunade continued.

"I, sadly, must inform you that Uzumaki Naruto, Rokudaime Hokage, is officially declared dead."

Tsunade's voice trembled. This was the moment she just wanted to break down and cry her eyes out. But she couldn't. As the Godaime she needed to remain strong, she needed to support the people, showing that this wasn't the end of the world. Even though for some it felt like the end of the world. Sadly, that included her.

But Tsunade remained strong. For now.

"He fought bravely and succeeded in protecting Konohagakure from any harm. He was one of the greatest…" Tsunade's eyes travelled to the Hokage mountain, where not only hers, but also her self-proclaimed otouto's face was carved in. His fate had been cruel.

Uchiha Sasuke better not cross paths with Tsunade anytime soon. Or maybe anytime _period_.

That's when she realised her cheeks were wet. Tears were freely falling without her even knowing it.

So far for her 'remaining strong'-thing.

-o-

_Oh, dammit._ The blonde-haired man winced as he opened his eyes. Why wasn't he in lala-land? He didn't want to be awake, seeing as he had a killer-headache. No wait… he had a simple killer-ache.

_Everything _ached. Not only his head.

The man pushed himself up from the very uncomfortable bed he was laying in. His arms ached when they had to support his body but he was determined to see where he was.

He looked around him. What he saw disappointed him. He was located in… something cave-like. He guessed he was pretty deep inside of the cave as he could not see an exit. Next to his very uncomfortable bed was a fire. He attempted to get out of his bed an get nearer to the fire, but found out he couldn't. Where his arms could barely carry his weight, his legs couldn't carry it at all.

The man growled. He wanted to know where he was! And he wanted to know it _now_.

When he lay down again, and didn't feel the throbbing pain in his arms anymore, he slowly started to think. Where was he? What was he doing here? And _who _brought him here?

The man already figured that if he was in such a condition before he lost consciousness he really couldn't have dragged himself into this forsaken cave. Someone must have brought him?

Why?

And now he was at the 'why'-section: why was he here? Why did he feel like a truck had run over him, stopped, turned around and ran over him again? And where the hell was food? Wait… that wasn't a 'why'-question.

While the blonde was deep in thought he hadn't noticed someone else had entered the cave. Only when the newly arrived person dropped the food he was holding, did he notice his presence.

The blonde stared at the man in front of him. The man had dark hair, a weird haircut that resembled a duck's butt ("Wha-?"), dark eyes and looked very angsty. No wait… that wasn't angsty. It was fear? _Why would anyone look at me with fear?_ The blonde thought. He was genuinely surprised.

The man just stared at him. His mouth opened, closed, and opened again. Making him look like a goldfish. Then the dark-haired man spoke. "N-Naruto."

His voice was soft, but monotone. _Someone who doesn't like to show his emotions… _The blonde thought. Wait… how could he know that? Now that he thought about; the man in front of him.. Had he seen him somewhere before? _And…_

_Who the hell is Naruto? _The blonde thought. He and the dark-haired man were the only ones in the cave. So he supposed he himself was Naruto. _That's weird, I don't know my name anymore?_

"Y-you're awake."

"Yeah, well duh, thank you for that Mister Obvious." The blonde, now known as Naruto spoke. The mysteriousness of this whole situation wasn't doing any good for the blonde's temper.

The dark-haired man blinked. And stared. Again. And kept on staring. If Naruto didn't feel like a truck had run him over, stopped, turned around and ran over him again he would've let the dark-haired man meet Mister Fist.

Staring was very annoying. And rude. But mostly annoying.

So he said what came to his mind. "Stop staring, teme!"

The dark-haired man kept staring. Naruto growled in frustration.

"Who the hell are you, anyway?-!"

Now the dark-haired man paled. Normally someone wouldn't be able to see such a thing, but Naruto wasn't exactly known as normal. So he saw it when the man paled as much as his already pale skin would allow him.

The dark-haired man gave no reply, but just stared blankly. Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Answer me."

Still the dark-haired man gave no reply. After two minutes of staring eachother down the dark-haired man just turned around. Like that.

"Oi teme!" Naruto yelled. "Where are you going?-! You haven't answered me yet!"

But the dark-haired man gave no reply as he just disappeared in the darkness of the cave. Naruto could only growl in annoyance. Though it also was a mask; his annoyance that is.. Because Naruto had realised something. And now he was panicking inside. Because…

_He remembered nothing. Absolutely nothing. _

When the dark-haired man had called him Naruto he realised it. Because… who the hell was Naruto? Why did the teme call him that? _Is it my name? But why doesn't it sound familiar? Why don't I know where I'm coming from? Why don't I know my friends' names? Why can't I recall my family? Where do I live? Why don't I know? Why is my memory… blank? _

Naruto resisted the urge to start running around in circles while screaming his head off. Which was quite easy seeing as his legs couldn't carry his weight.

Naruto waited an hour or so for the dark-haired man to return, so he could bombard the man with his questions. But the man didn't came back. Or at least not in that hour.

And as Naruto had the time to think he slowly started to make use of it. Who was that teme-guy, really? Naruto had the feeling he knew that man quite well and the man seemed to know him too. He just couldn't figure out if that was a good or bad thing.

His instincts didn't help much in this matter as one half screamed 'fine!' and another part 'bad!'

Naruto was incredibly frustrated to say in the least.

And so he waited for the dark-haired man to come back.

After another half hour the fire started to dim and eventually burned out, leaving Naruto alone in the cold cave. Naruto gritted his teeth as he clutched the worn out blanket closer. If only he could get out of that freaking bed… were his last thoughts before he fell into a dreamless sleep.

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**Dictionary: **

_Otouto_ – Little brother

_Konohagakure no Sato _– Village Hidden In The Leaves

_Godaime – _Fifth

_Rokudaime –_ Sixth

_Teme_ - Bastard

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_**A/N:** This kinda was a prologue. But not really. 'Cause the next chapter will go from where we left here. Which means this isn't really a prologue. Sigh. _

_And for the quote in the beginning: forgiveness is going to play a huge part in this story. So it's not just a random quote. _

_I'll see what the responds to this fic are and then I'll update. And if anyone knows a better name than The Great Escape then please tell me. And titles like Forgotten or Memories are too overused. Anyway, so much for that. Let me know what you think! Yes really. I'm curious. :D_


	2. Just Checking

**A/N:**_ I had begun writing this chapter way sooner than expected. Doesn't mean I'll post it directly though after finishing though. For I am evil. And thanks to those who reviewed the first chapter. :D I love you. Well, not really but you know what I mean… I hope. _

**Disclaimer:**_I don't own Naruto (yet). Still haven't received that letter that stated I was to continue the Naruto series. __Damn.

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Naruto woke up again, but this time it wasn't due to an aching body, no, this time he woke up because he smelled something.

Smoke. And where smoke is…

"FIRE!" The blonde jumped up waving his arms frantically, before falling back on his not-too-soft bed. Damn, his legs were still weak. And now his butt hurt too.

Naruto looked around him, confused.

Yes, there was a fire. But it was a small one: one to warm your body with. Or to burn food. Which the mysterious dark-haired man, who had returned while Naruto slumbered, had done. Literally.

He sat next to the fire. Next to him was a badly burned _thing _that could kinda resemble a badly, _very_ badly burnt rabbit. But he wasn't sure. Were rabbits _supposed_ to three paws? Wait, that thing that lay there three meters to the left, was that the fourth-?

What. The. Hell.

_A psycho_ had saved Naruto?

Instead of speaking his thought out loud, Naruto decided some things… were better when left unanswered.

Naruto decided he didn't want to piss off the evil man. So he closed his eyes and faked a snore. Maybe the man would think he only woke up a second long because of a nightmare… or something like that. Naruto ignored the fact that he was sleeping while sitting, and that his body moved towards, where he supposed, the exit was. Or that he miserably failed at his fake sleeping.

The dark-haired, now classified as 'evil', man looked at Naruto. He was somewhat amused at the miserable attempt to escape.

He poked into the fire with a stick. "I know you're awake." He told Naruto.

Naruto just kept snoring. And then made an attempt to fake his wake-up.

"Eh?" _Yawn_. "You said something? I just had this-" _Yaaaawn_. "-wonderful dream about… err… " Naruto yawned another time. But this time just to stall time. What the hell must he say without looking suspicious? He almost panicked when he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Err... Foxes! And snakes! And ramen! Lots of ramen! Miso-flavoured too! But also beef and pork ramen! And-" Naruto almost became a little too engrossed in his own lie when something hit him in his face.

What the hell was that!?

He looked at the thing that had hit him. It was long, hard and smelled gross.

No… Seriously…?

He looked at the spot where the fourth paw had been just a few moments before. It was gone.

Naruto stared at the thing in his hand.

In a moment of absolute disgust Naruto threw the thing away. It hit The Evil Man square in the back of his head. The man turned around and glared an Evil Glare.

By now Naruto had forgotten all about his vow not to piss off the man. Who dared to throw a burned piece of rabbit at his head? Who dared sending him an evil glare? Who dared interrupt his wonderful daydeam? "Who the hell do you think you are!? Throwing dead body parts at me like that!?"

A flicker of emotion crossed the man's eyes, but Naruto couldn't quite identify it. Maybe it was because he was too mad, or maybe he didn't want to know, or maybe he really didn't know. It didn't matter, as our little blonde remained oblivious of Evil Man's pained expression.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke." He began staring impassively at the fire again. When Naruto didn't answer, he reached for the stick and began poking the fire again.

Naruto was deep in thought. The name sounded so familiar. "Uchiha… Sasuke…" And it slipped of his tongue without any hesitation. He was sure he knew that name… very well. So why couldn't he remember…?

"Do I know you?"

Sasuke, almost unnoticeably, flinched. "…No."

"Are you sure? I've heard your name somewhere… I just don't remember where…" _I just don't remember anything at all. Damn. _

Sasuke shrugged. "Do you remember anything at all?" He asked impassively.

Naruto grimaced. How did that teme know what he had been thinking!? What a bastard! "…Not really." Naruto grudgingly admitted.

When Sasuke remained silent, Naruto got curious. "Do _you_ know _me_?"

"…No."

"But… how come you still knew my name, then?"

Sasuke tensed. "What are you talking about?" he asked quite rudely.

"When I woke up earlier… You were stammering my name when you saw I was awake…" Naruto accusingly said. Did the bastard, besides throwing innocent rabbits at him, also dare lie?

Sasuke shrugged. To anyone who knew him it meant something along the lines of 'I don't want to talk about it. Leave me alone.'

But Naruto didn't know the man, or to be more precise, he didn't remember the man. So he did what came to mind.

"Yo, you bastard! I'M TALKING TO YOU! ANSWER ME- ACHOO!" In mid-sentence Naruto clamped a hand over his mouth. Embarrassed he stared at his hand. When he was sure it wouldn't happen again he decided to get his answers.

"I want answers-! ACHOO!" Again, Naruto clamped his hand over his mouth. What the hell? He had a cold?

"This is all - ACHOO – your fault." Naruto managed to bring out and stared accusingly at Sasuke's head. "If you had gotten me – _snivel_ – a warmer blanket – _snivel_ - I wouldn't have gotten sick."

Sasuke just sighed at the blonde's immaturity. So everything was his fault then? No 'thanks for saving me'? Not that he _ever_ had thought – no – _hoped_ he would get that. No, he had thought Naruto would at least kill him. But… amnesia seemed to intervene. Sasuke didn't know what to do. He couldn't exactly explain Naruto who he was… Or how they knew each other.

The blonde in question was making his way over to his bed again. He was extremely frustrated. "Damn bastard getting me sick. So much for an evil savior. Teme." He muttered under his breath.

Naruto crawled back to his excuse-for-a-bed and grabbed it. He walked over to the fire and sat besides the stoic Uchiha. In the warmth of the fire he continued to mutter curses to the man besides him.

"Ne, _sneeze snivel, _Sasuke, tell me something about yourself."

Sasuke looked at Naruto, his brow was raised a millimetre, for anyone who knew Sasuke well, which was no one actually, it implied he was surprised.

"Well?" Naruto asked, while wiping his nose with his hands. Sasuke looked disgusted.

"…No."

"Why not!?" Naruto whined loudly. It wasn't that impressive really, especially when he began sneezing again.

"Gee, you just saved me and all, and waited 'till I was better, _snivel_, and now you're not gonna tell me something about myself?" To say Naruto was insulted would be a bit of an understatement. This man knew something of his past, and now he wouldn't tell! The bastard!

Sasuke smirked. "_I saved you_?"

Naruto didn't see what's so funny. "…Yea- NO!" He shouted when he realised what Sasuke was getting at. Being saved was so… _degrading_. Of course he didn't need to be saved. "I meant to say you… err… _helped_ me. "

Sasuke raised his eyebrow again. There fell another silence.

Naruto didn't like quiet people. He never did.

Or at least he _thought_ he never did. It wasn't like he could remember it, or something. He inwardly pouted. Pouting outwardly would be childish, and Naruto didn't feel childish. At all. Really.

Damn, why was everything so quiet?! Now he was having these strange thoughts. That's when Naruto realised something. "You haven't answered my question, teme."

"Which question?" Sasuke feigned innocence. Or at least as much as his too long hair, too pale skin, and black eyes would let him. Black eyes, which were most of the time emotionless didn't really help an 'innocence' act. It _did_ help the 'dangerous' factor, or the 'mysterious' factor, but that wasn't really needed when you feigned innocence. Besides, Innocence had never suited an Uchiha before, and it didn't plan to do now.

So Sasuke failed his act. Miserably.

"You know wh_ACHOO_, _snivel_, I'm talking about."

Naruto sighed when Sasuke wouldn't answer him. "Can I just ask you some questions?"

Sasuke was a bit disturbed by Naruto's lack of curses. Or lack of temper. So he said the first thing that came to mind. "Hnn." Which Naruto gladly took as a 'yes'.

Naruto sneezed one time before he asked what he had wanted to ask. "So… are you a serial killer?"

Well, that wasn't what Sasuke had expected. He took a glance at Naruto who stared at him expectedly. "…No."

Naruto looked relieved. "Just checking." He told Sasuke merrily, and wiped his nose again. And Sasuke just watched in disgust as he saw some green substance drip on Naruto's sleeve.

"…Will you tell me about your family?" Naruto asked suddenly.

Sasuke looked at Naruto again, and again was slightly disturbed. "…Why?"

The blonde didn't look at Sasuke, but instead stared longingly into the fire. That's when Sasuke understood. _He still understands where the pain comes from_…

Sasuke smiled bitterly. "We'll see when you deserve to hear that story." He told Naruto, who turned his head in turn to look at him in confusion.

"Wha-? So… you're staying?" Naruto said, clearly very confused.

"Hnn."

"That means…" Naruto pondered. "That you were one of my friends… or you're homosexual." He looked at Sasuke in a distrusting manner. "You're not going to take advantage of me in my sleep, are you?"

Sasuke looked at him like he'd grown a second head, forgetting his stoic façade for a second.

"It's just that you don't look like a person that would help someone out without a –SNEEZE- good reason." Naruto once again wiped his nose with his sleeve. Sasuke didn't even notice, as he was still dumbfounded with what Naruto had said. Naruto just continued.

"You do look like someone that would help out his friends when they really need help," He snivelled brightly. "And you're bastard enough to not tell them of their past so you could enjoy the power you have by not telling them." He added somewhat less enthusiastically.

"You also look like you'd take advantage of people when they're asleep." Naruto eyed Sasuke suspiciously.

Sasuke stared. "…Baka."

"Ehh?! Me? You are the one who didn't find a decent blanket for an injured person!"

Little did Naruto know that the lack of blanket was only the _secondary_ reason for his cold. Hundreds of kilometres from the dark cave was the Rokudaime Hokage's funeral being held. And people tend to talk on funerals. A lot.

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**Dictionary:**

_Teme _– Bastard

_Baka _– Stupid

_Rokudaime_ - Sixth

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**A/N:**_ I take it all anime slash manga fans know the thing about sneezing? If you didn't… When you sneezes it means someone is talking about you. Or so they say. No, I don't know who 'they' are. _

_And in this chapter you've seen what I mean with the 'child-like behaviour' of Naruto. ; _

_Please leave a review. :D _


	3. Shinobi

Naruto learned something in the following week with Sasuke.

Uchiha Sasuke was a terrible cook.

"Just give me the rabbit." Naruto demanded. "You couldn't even make ramen if you just had to wait three minutes for it to warm up!"

Sasuke scoffed at Naruto's tone of voice, but, even if it was reluctantly, gave Naruto the rabbit.

That's when Naruto learned another lesson.

Naruto, also, was a terrible cook.

Grimacing, he looked at the rabbit in his hand. It's wasn't burnt, like Sasuke's cooking always was, but it was just plain… unfit for human consumption.

"Why don't we get a cook?" Naruto whined after another night of disgusting looking, and rather disgusting tasting too, food.

Sasuke just gave Naruto a look, before turning to the fire.

Naruto pouted… inwardly.

-o-

It was a week after Naruto had woken up that he decided to see how the outside world was doing.

He had rather enjoyed toying with Sasuke, but once Sasuke found out Naruto _did_ have enough energy to reach for a bottle of water that lay barely two meters from him, playtime had been over. And Sasuke had taken his role as the cruel observer once again.

So that's why, after founding the strength in his legs again, Naruto walked out of the cave quite merrily.

Good thing Sasuke had gone out to get food. Naruto, somehow, was sure the dark-haired man wouldn't have let him gone to 'the big bad world'.

So Naruto sneaked out of the cave. The light that the sun gave off burned hotly into his eyes. He held his hands up to protect them. From behind his fingers he observed his surroundings.

They were nearby the mountain, that's why they were in a cave; he'd known that. But outside the cave there was a huge forest. Why, he didn't know, but Naruto got a smile on his face. It reminded him of someplace. He just didn't know what or where, but it made him happy.

That's when he heard a cold voice from behind him.

"_What're are you doing out here?" _

Wow, that didn't really sound nice. Especially since it was said with a certain threatening undertone. Naruto turned around, still protecting his eyes from the sun.

"Ow! Sasu-teme! That was so cold!" He hoped a little joke would get the Uchiha in a better mood. A little too late he realised that you really shouldn't call people 'bastard' if you wanted to enliven them.

"I have food, go back to the cave." Sasuke commanded, cold and business-like as always.

"Can't we camp outside?" Naruto asked. He moved his hand back to his sides. Now that the sun didn't burn that hotly anymore, he enjoyed being outside. It was fresher, more hygienic, there was more space. He didn't feel like… a caged bird, anymore.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and glared at Naruto. Naruto just gave him this pleading look.

Sasuke sighed, but still continued glaring. Then he walked into the cave and left Naruto outside with his sole self.

Naruto, after only a week, already knew enough of the Uchiha's body language to know that Sasuke had given into his wish, albeit reluctantly. His smile grew wider.

Content with his victory Naruto went to find a comfortable place. He walked into the forest, not bothering to wait for Sasuke. Sasuke somehow always knew how to find him, he'd realised that when he had 'explored' the cave they were in, when he still thought Sasuke was a serial killer or something.

Naruto had been walking for fifteen minutes when he finally saw some glade that suited him and Sasuke perfectly. In the middle it was sunny, and there grew many flowers. But to the edge of the glade things became a little murky: there was more shadow, less happy-like flowers, more weeds, and just a general creepy mood.

It was… gloomy! That was the word! It suited Sasuke perfectly!

Naruto smiled deviously when some gruff voice behind his back startled him. "…Idiot." The voice said.

Naruto's happy smile dropped instantly. "What? Why? This place is perfect!" He didn't need to turn around to know the offender was Sasuke.

Sasuke scoffed. "This place is nearby an shinobi village, if we'd camp in _a glade_ we'd practically be screaming to be caught."

"So what?" Naruto pouted, this time outwardly. "It's not like we're shinobi or anything. They wouldn't hurt mere travellers…"

Sasuke got this weird look on his face.

"…Or would they?" Naruto added, becoming unsure when he saw Sasuke's face.

Sasuke realised he was staring openly and quickly returned to his stoic self. "Hnn." He grunted out and threw the blankets, which he had fetched from the cave, on the ground.

Naruto sometimes really wondered where the hell this guy got his social skills from. He reached for a blanket and lay it in the middle of the glade.

"We can find a better place for the night." Naruto suddenly said. "That's fine with me. But… I just want to enjoy the sun now I can." He looked somewhat unsure at Sasuke, which wasn't a thing the blond usually would do. And shocked Sasuke a tad bit.

Almost unnoticeably Sasuke nodded.

-o-

They spent the night on the ground, in some tents Sasuke had 'found'. The fact that one of the tents got blood splatters on it made Naruto rethink his serial killer theory. After all, he knew almost nothing of Sasuke.

The dark-haired man still didn't deem Naruto 'worthy' of hearing his life story and rarely talked. And when he did, he said as little as possible.

It was annoying, it was irritable, aggravating, infuriating even, but at the same time: it was Sasuke. It was in his personality.

Maybe he couldn't help it… Maybe something made him act like this. And Naruto had a knowing feeling that the past, that Sasuke tried to keep a secret so badly, had everything to do with it.

But the past always catches up with the present. It can't be erased, and will always be there, waiting to reveal itself once again.

Sasuke tried to forget that, but Naruto knew. And that was the reason why he put up with Sasuke's behaviour. Because he was sure that, in the end, he would know.

Maybe a little, maybe everything. But he would know. Eventually.

-o-

That morning Naruto woke up from lack of moving-space. And oxygen. His tent had collapsed. Great.

Naruto growled. "Teme! Where are you?!" Of course Sasuke had done this! Who else would display such evilness? Who else _could _display such evilness? It wasn't like there was someone else in their tents.

…Unless Sasuke had decided he needed to get laid.

A devious grin spread on Naruto's face, while he was still struggling to get out of his tent. He needed to remember that one!

Naruto's grin stopped when he heard evil cackling. Tch. The bastard was of course watching from the sidelines how Naruto attempted to struggle out of his tent. The sadist.

Being killed by his own tent didn't really sound like a heroic way to die. No, Naruto didn't want to die by the hands… err, claws, canvas… tent pegs? Oh, to hell with it! He just didn't want to die by the likes of his tent.

The cackling continued, and that's when Naruto realised.

_That wasn't Sasuke. _It didn't sound like Sasuke. It wasn't him. Someone else was enjoying his torment.

That's when Naruto remembered something_. "This place is nearby an shinobi village." _They hadn't moved that far from their original spot, only to a more secluded one, which had been ten meters further from their original place.

"_It's not like we're shinobi or anything. They wouldn't hurt mere travellers… Or would they?" Sasuke didn't answer. _

Naruto was sure he wouldn't stand a chance against a shinobi. Shinobi were silent killers. Sometimes sadistic killers even, who liked their victims dieing a painful and slow death.

While Naruto was struggling a way out of his tent, he heard that the evil cackling suddenly stopped. Well… suddenly? He heard a faint gurgle, and then it stopped. And now… what was that?

Someone was dragging something over the grass.

Naruto wondered why he had such good hearing. Who else could figure out rustling was someone dragging something over the grass?

Naruto struggled some more, and finally he found the exit from his tent.

…Pity he still had to find the zipper.

When Naruto was out of his tent, he anxiously looked around. His tent was a mess. Next to it lay a… short pointy thing. _Kunai_. Some thing ninja used. It had cut the strings from his tent.

Well, I'd prefer the strings of my tent over my neck, Naruto thought rubbing his neck absent-mindedly. That's when he decided to look at Sasuke's tent.

Which was in a perfect state.

Naruto walked over to Sasuke's tent, and slowly opened the zipper. No one was in there.

Naruto got a creepy feeling. Had something happened? And somehow Naruto took that moment to realise there was blood near his tent.

Before he could even jump to conclusions Sasuke walked out of the bushes, unharmed. Except for a bloody arm.

Naruto stared at him with wide eyes. "What did you do to your arm?" he asked, and pointed at Sasuke's arm. His face was pale; like it was the first time he's ever seen blood. And since he lost his memories it may as well have been.

Sasuke just stared with his annoying and emotionless stare. "We were ambushed in our sleep. I took care of it."

With that he just turned his back to Naruto, who stared at him back totally lost.

He took care of it… The blood on his arm… It wasn't his own… He killed someone! He killed someone and came back as the same emotionless jerk that had left! How could a human do that?! Act like killing was nothing?!

That when Naruto realised. Those guys that ambushed them probably had been shinobi.

It was almost impossible for an 'ordinary' person to kill a shinobi, let alone two. Which made Sasuke a shinobi as well. Which did explain his behaviour… Kinda. Shinobi weren't known for having an easy life…

Naruto stared at Sasuke's back and decided that today, he would not try to get answers to his or Sasuke's past.

Killing should… no: _could_ not be easy. Not even for the most hardened shinobi. Because, besides professional shinobi, ninja also were human.

* * *

**Dictionary:**

_Teme _– Bastard

Shinobi – Ninja

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Some call it a filler, some call it a waste of time! I call it: a chapter where practically nothing happens, but at the same time also a lot! Remember, in a fic, nothing is a filler. This chapter was extremely useful to portray the relationship between the two, which is, as you could notice, kinda… stiff. And forced. In the next chapter some… interesting person will come, and more of Sasuke's past will be revealed. And in the fifth chapter I'll re-enter Konoha. _

_And from now on the story will be called _**Blank Slate**. _Thanks to _**Alvera Snowcat **_for that name. It's a lot better than the great escape. I think I'll explain that title some time. _

_I had a lot of philosophy in this chapter… I think I like it. And please tell me if I made any mistakes. It's now eleven 'o clock P.M. while I'm posting this and I didn't have much time to check all the mistakes. I'll check tomorrow myself, but it would be nice if you could help me. :D_

_**Edit**__: checked this one, and the earlier two chapters. Fixed as much as I could find. Tell me if there's more. Especially about the grammar would be nice, as I'm kinda insecure about that. _


	4. Ramen

_A/N: __**Spoilers for latest manga chapters, in this A/N!**_

_If there was anyone wondering about this… Everything that has happened in the manga, up until chapter 343 has happened in this story. Sasuke, however, hasn't killed, or even attempted to kill Orochimaru. The snake sannin lives. :O

* * *

_

Naruto wiped the sweat of his forehead… again. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the form of Sasuke that walked in front of him, a good ten meters away. Like always, the Uchiha didn't seem to be faced.

Naruto groaned slightly. Why was it so _freaking_ hot?

He looked at the villagers that were walking carelessly around, enjoying their daily life, not bothered with the heat at all.

That made Naruto rethink his last sentence.

The weather wasn't that bad. Actually, it was a nice, fresh day. What made it so hot was the _long and black coat_ that covered his entire body. Sasuke also had one, so why wasn't he sweating like a madman? Naruto sometimes wondered if that guy even was human.

Naruto let out another groan, and walked even slower than before, if that was possible.

Sasuke who had been losing his patience with the whining blonde that slowed down with every step, turned around slowly, with a scowl on his face. "Naruto! Hurry up!" He barked. Which was quite unusual for the Uchiha. Maybe the heat _did_ affect him.

Naruto glared at Sasuke. "Only if I can get out of this ridiculously stupid coat." He half-demanded. Who the hell would wear a _black _coat when there was a _hot_ sun lurking? But he was too tired to get into a full argument. He only wanted to take off the stupid coat, but the teme wouldn't let him.

Sasuke returned his glare, and scowled before turning his back on him. A definite '_don't even think about it'._ And if Sasuke wasn't Sasuke it my have been a loud '_Hell no!_'

Naruto glowered at Sasuke's back and began following him… again.

They had been walking around this village for an hour now, and Sasuke still hadn't found the inn he was looking for. Naruto had already proposed just going to another inn but Sasuke was dead set on _that_ one.

Naruto sighed dreadfully, but then… he smelled something… Something delicious. Naruto licked his lips and got a predatory gleam in his eyes. He followed the smell, forgetting Sasuke entirely. But he had only completed five steps astray from Sasuke when he got caught.

"We're supposed to go _that_ way." Sasuke said tediously, magically appearing in front of him.

"But I'm hungry!" Naruto whined, unfazed with the Uchiha's sudden appearance. After two weeks with Sasuke, he'd seen this trick enough times not to jump back and scream like a girl… anymore.

As if to prove Naruto's point his stomach began growling loudly.

Sasuke glared at Naruto's stomach. "That can wait."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly. Sometimes… sometimes he wished he could just punch that bastard and get over with it, once and for all. But sadly enough, he had already tried that just that morning. He had failed miserably, but considering Sasuke's ninja-background it wasn't _that_ humiliating.

Sasuke stared long and impassively at Naruto before turning around, just like that. He was so completely sure Naruto would follow him like a kicked puppy, that Naruto suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Or maybe it was just him being hungry. But somehow he thought it had more to do with Sasuke's attitude.

Now Naruto thought about it… The last couple of days he'd been awfully clingy and dependant of his dark-haired companion. Sasuke was the one with the money; Sasuke was the one who had the most knowledge of their area; Sasuke was the one with the power to protect both of them; Sasuke was the one who remained calm and collected when dealing with rude people; Sasuke was the one could fought the random thug off; Sasuke was the one who'd say where they sleep for the night, what they'd eat, where they'd eat, when they'd eat.

Sasuke was the one who pulled the strings.

Sure, Naruto would protest, complain, whine, grumble, and Kami knows what else. But he'd give in, eventually.

And the way Sasuke had turned around made Naruto realise all of this in one second.

Pity Naruto wouldn't be there to see Sasuke's face when the arrogant teme would realise he wasn't being followed anymore.

With a mischievous smile, Naruto disappeared with stealth he hadn't known he possessed. He could swear he was now being awfully… ninja-like.

-o-

Sasuke had walked two meters further when he felt something wasn't right. He waited to hear Naruto's grumbling, complaints, protests and whatnot. It never came.

Slowly he turned around, only to see the spot Naruto had occupied earlier was now perfectly deserted.

Only one thing went through his mind.

…Crap.

-o-

Naruto was amazed with his speed. In a fit of enthusiasm he ran straight into a wall, somehow lifting his feet up so that he walked upwards. After a meter or three he suddenly got nervous and leaped off, making a clumsy rotation in the air, before landing on the ground. Somehow he managed to land on his feet.

His head spinned after his clumsy rotation in the air.

After the dizziness wore off, Naruto saw the looks bystanders were giving him.

Appreciative… Admiring…

He didn't know why, but those stares made him feel incredibly warm. And it was not the kind of warmth the coat tormented him with. No… it was another kind of warmth…

Naruto gave the bystanders the largest grin he could give them, before noticing he had lost his hat somewhere in his leap. He picked it up and replaced it on his head, covering his face once again.

Why had Sasuke given him that thing in the first place?

Besides covering his face it had no function. And Naruto didn't feel like covering his face. He understood why _Sasuke _needed the head. (After all he managed to scare the shit out of everyone, even the most hardened criminals!) But why Naruto? It wasn't like he had to hide or something. He didn't have any scars, wasn't particularly ugly, wasn't scary…

Before Naruto could think about it some more, he suddenly remembered something.

…Sasuke wasn't nearby. Sow why did he still wear the hat?

Naruto's mouth curled up in a mischievous smile.

Hat-less Naruto proceeded to look for a ramen-stand. This time not with the weird speed he had earlier. Or the strange acrobatics. He didn't feel like dying, and he could've easily broken his neck if he had fallen down earlier.

Besides, Naruto had to keep his attention on his mission: finding the ramen he smelled earlier. He doubted he could find the ramen-stand if was too engrossed in his newly acquired skills.

Naruto walked down the streets without any further dramatics. He was entirely oblivious of the stares he received. Some admiring, for the stunt he pulled earlier, some suspicious. Because it was kind of suspicious when two cloaked men, entirely in black and with weird hats that covered their faces, come into your peaceful town, then separate, and start weird ninja-like things.

They looked at Naruto suspiciously, following his every move, staring at his back with cautious gazes. The villagers seemingly relaxed when Naruto had found his target, the ramen-stand, and disappeared out of their sight.

Naruto walked into the ramen-stand. It was very snug from the inside, even more so than from the outside. There was roughly space for about ten people.

He sat down at seat in front of the kitchen, and yelled: "OI! I'd like one misou-ramen, please!" He momentarily forgot Sasuke's rant about not attracting attraction, and complained loudly when the ramen took too long (for Naruto's hungry logic).

"Ungrateful brat…" the chef muttered under his breath when he gave Naruto his bowl of ramen. 'Ungrateful brat' quickly turned into 'my dearest customer', though, when Naruto ordered his seventh bowl.

"Here you go!" the chef told Naruto merrily, when he placed the boy's ninth bowl in front of him, smiling like a maniac. Naruto, however, missed the greedy look of the chef _entirely_.

"Thanks!" Naruto replied merrily and dug into his ninth bowl.

It was then that Naruto felt someone plopping down into the seat next to him. Naruto took a sideway glance and saw a woman next to him. She had long brown hair, and looked absolutely desperate. "Sake…" she muttered to the chef. Looking at him desperately with bloodshot eyes. There were rather large bags under her eyes too.

The chef merely raised a brow at her. "You do realise this is a ramen-stand?"

The woman slammed her head against the counter and groaned. "Ramen, then." The chef shrugged her lack of respect off and went back to his kitchen.

Naruto wondered why the woman was so distressed.

Suddenly the woman turned to him, her large bloodshot eyes staring him down, making her look like some lunatic.

A _scary_ lunatic, that is.

"Why?!" she exclaimed, causing Naruto to flinch. Suddenly he became aware of the alcoholic scent around her. "Why is it so _freaking_ _hard_ to find easy jobs today, without committing suicide?!" she practically yelled at Naruto.

Naruto dropped his chopsticks when he realised what she was talking about; the dramatic air the woman gave off seemed to be contagious. He grabbed her shoulders. "No!" He exclaimed, shaking her loudly. "I'm sure someone loves you! Don't give up! You'll find someone with a job and then you'll never have to worry about money anymore!"

The woman stared at him, totally flabbergasted.

Naruto stared at her, boring his eyes intently into hers.

She stared… and then burst out laughing. Naruto was puzzled.

He exchanged looks with the chef, who gave the woman her first bowl. His look clearly stated: 'Don't-ask-me-I'm-a-male-species'. The chef was right: they probably couldn't understand a female.

So the chef returned to the sole third customer, while Naruto returned to his ramen.

The woman almost choked. "You… You're funny!" She managed to get out between some gasps.

Naruto who had already proceeded to eat his tenth bowl chuckled, his silent promise to leave the woman alone already forgotten. "I am, ain't I?" It was nice to talk with someone who wasn't as stuck-up as the teme.

Speaking about the teme… where was he? Naruto had presumed the teme would have found in within ten minutes. But it had been forty-five minutes since he'd left Sasuke, and he still hadn't been found…

Naruto merrily waved it off. It meant more ramen for him!

The woman next to him also let out a chuckle. She wasn't as drunk as he originally thought. Actually she was quite sober. "My name is Mayakashi Kaede. You are?"

Naruto slurped some remains of his ramen out of the bowl. "Naruto." He said.

Kaede raised an eyebrow. "…No surname?"

Naruto grinned impishly. "Err… I forgot?"

It was true though. He didn't remember his last name. Maybe if he'd ask Sasuke… But he doubted the teme would tell him. The teme was pure evil, especially in cases like this. If Sasuke would have his way, Naruto would know _nothing_.

Or so Naruto thought.

Kaede looked at him thoughtfully, but then looked at her untouched ramen and started to eat it. "So…" she said while eating. Her table manners were as bad as Naruto's. Some ramen spluttered over her bowl, finding its home on the floor.

"…What village do you come from? You don't look like you're from around here…" she continued, after choking away some particular big bite.

Naruto had quite the feeling this woman was being too curious. Her face darkened when he told her he forgot… again.

"Can you tell me about yourself?" she asked him. Her tone of voice was light and nonchalant, but now Naruto could feel some sort of intensity come from her.

Somehow he thought telling her too much would turn out disastrous. Besides his instincts telling him that, he also reminisced the nagging voice of a certain companion of his.

"_Keep following me, don't attract any attention to yourself, don't even think about sneaking off without me, and don't talk to others. If you're forced to talk to others, then at least don't tell them __**anything**__. Got it memorised? We're going."_

It was the longest sentence the Uchiha had spoken since his time with Naruto. And Naruto had forgotten… or rather ignored the Uchiha's words.

Now let's see… Keep following Sasuke had failed, the same with not sneaking off on his own. He had attracted quite some attention with his suspicious clothing, as well his new-found acrobatics. He had talked to… the chef, the lady next to him and some random people on the streets. He'd told Kaede his name, and that he didn't know where he came from.

Great going, Naruto! Naruto resisted the urge to slam his head against the counter like Kaede had done earlier.

Kaede still was eating her ramen, acting casually, but Naruto noticed the greedy gleam in her eyes. The same one the chef had, only Naruto's simple mind had decided that ramen-chefs couldn't be evil. After all: they were the ones that provided him his precious ramen!

The gleam in Kaede's eyes made Naruto realise that he had encountered one of the most dangerous of the female species: the gossiper.

Sasuke would never forgive him if he blabbed against a gossiper.

Naruto frantically tried to find his way out of this situation. And Naruto, who'd been quite famous for coming up with brilliant plans whenever he was in a threatening situation (not that he knew that), decided to backfire her question. "You don't look like you're from here either." He smiled sincerely at her, though he felt anything but relaxed on the inside.

She smiled back at him, though he could've sworn he saw her pout for a second. "No. I'm from Suna."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, he was genuinely surprised. "Then why are you _here?_" Suna and Iwa weren't exactly on good terms with each other. For her to show her face near Iwa could be dangerous.

That's when Naruto realised he remembered the political issues between countries, but could not remember his name.

…Why wasn't life fair?

She grinned cheekily. "It's secret."

That's when someone else entered the ramen-stand. An aura of absolute doom fell down on all the people present.

A voice growled out. _"…Narutoooo."_

Naruto, who had shrugged the apocalypse-like aura off as nothing to worry about, suddenly felt the urge to leave his ramen and flee. He shivered, and turned around slowly. "Hiya, Sasuke!" He said as cheerfully as possible.

The dark-haired male merely glared daggers at him.

Before Sasuke decided something drastic Naruto grabbed his ramen and held it out to Sasuke. "Hungry?" he offered weakly.

Sasuke merely looked as if he'd grown a second head, like he'd do many times. "Come." He commanded. Naruto looked at the seat next to him. "Gomen Kaede…"

He stared. "…san?"

The seat next to him was empty. An empty ramen bowl was the only evidence anyone had been there in the first place.

The oblivious Uchiha stalked out of the ramen-stand, as always expecting Naruto to follow him. And this time, Naruto did.

They never heard the anguished cries of the ramen-chef, when he found out Naruto had left without paying.

* * *

**Dictionary: **Teme – Bastard 

_Gomen_ – Sorry

_-san – _(honorific) mister, miss

* * *

**A/N:**_ So… Naruto's pride was hurt because he felt dependant of Sasuke and so he tiptoed off, then he realised he's an acrobat (no, not really…) and then he meets a Suna-shinobi who mysteriously disappears afterwards… _

_Originally, this chapter would've been longer. But somehow, I felt like cutting it off. Please, don't kill me. :O_

_And to my dearest reviewers: I'd like to apologise for not replying to your reviews last chapter. I've been kinda busy. And thanks to some of you I realised A/Ns _are_ read, after all! ;D_

_As for entering Konoha next chapter… Now that I cut this chapter off, I'm not so sure it'd be wise to re-enter them already. Maybe the sixth chap… ;D _

_PS I love reviews so much, I reply to them. Criticism's welcome too. _

_My next update will be at the end of July, probably, due to school. My apologies. _


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